1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of beading and more specifically relates to portable bead weaving devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beadwork is the art or craft of stringing seed beads together and/or attaching beads to one another or to cloth, usually by the use of a needle and thread or soft, flexible line such as fishing line. Beadwork may take the form of jewelry or other personal adornment(s), and may be used in wall hangings and sculpture. Beadwork techniques are numerous and may be broadly divided into loom and off-loom weaving, stringing, bead embroidery, bead crochet, and bead knitting.
Modern beadwork is often used as a creative hobby to design jewelry, purses, coasters, and other crafts. Beads are available in a variety of different designs, sizes, colors, and materials, allowing variation among bead artisans and projects. Simple beadwork projects can be created by hand in a short duration, while complex beadwork may take weeks of meticulous work with specialized tools and equipment to complete. Such specialized tools and equipment have been used traditionally to perform 3-D bead weaving projects. 3-D beading may be divided into right angle weaves and peyote stitches. The majority of 3-D beading patterns are done in right angle weave, but sometimes both techniques may be combined in the same piece. Both stitches may be done using either fishing line or nylon thread. Fishing line lends itself better to right angle weaves because it is stiffer than nylon thread, therefore it holds the beads in a tighter arrangement and does not easily break when tugged upon. Nylon thread is more suited to peyote stitch because it is softer and more pliable than fishing line, which permits the beads of the stitch to sit straight without undue tension bending the arrangement out of place.
Right angle weaves may be done using both ends of the fishing line, in which beads are strung in repeated circular arrangements, and the fishing line is pulled taut after each bead circle is made. Peyote stitch is stitched using only one end of the nylon thread. The other end of the string is left dangling at the beginning of the piece, while the first end of the thread progresses through the stitch. In peyote stitch, beads are woven into the piece in a very similar fashion to knitting or cross stitching. Peyote stitch patterns are very easy to depict diagrammatically because they are typically stitched flat and then later incorporated into the piece or left as a flat tapestry. Right angle weave lends itself better as a technique to 3-D beading, but peyote stitch offers the advantage of more tightly knit beads, which is sometimes necessary to properly portray an object in three dimensions.
Traditionally beadwork may also be performed on a loom. When weaving on a loom, the beads are locked in between the warp threads by the weft threads. Although a heddle can be used as in ordinary weaving, the most common technique requires two passes of the weft thread. First, an entire row of beads is strung on the weft thread. Then the beads are pressed in between the warp threads. The needle is passed back through the beads above the warp threads to lock the beads into place. The most difficult part of loomwork is finishing off the warp threads. Bead looms vary in size and are typically made of wood or metal. Some looms have roller bars that allow the weaver to produce pieces that are longer than the loom. Most looms are meant to sit on a table, but some have floor stands or are meant to sit in the lap; however looms are typically not given to ease of portability due to their relative size and weight.
Off-loom bead weaving may be used to weave seed beads together into a flat fabric. Off-loom techniques can be accomplished using a single needle and thread while some use two-needle variations. Different stitches produce pieces with distinct textures, shapes, and patterns. There are a number of different traditional off-loom bead stitches, including: peyote stitch, also known as gourd stitch; brick stitch, also known as Comanche or Cheyenne stitch; square stitch; herringbone stitch, also known as Ndebele stitch; Pondo stitch, also known as African circle stitch; right-angle weave; triangle weave; bead netting; African helix; and Dutch spiral.
Various solutions have been made for providing an efficient beading means such as those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 760,919; 1,313,765; and 4,160,467.
U.S. Pat. No. 760,919 to Poole discloses a framework that will permit the weaver pressing upon the beadwork from beneath the same and thereby greatly facilitating the manufacturing of the finished article. The framework construction means is assembled for controlling the tension of the warp-threads employed in the construction of the beadwork arid and facilitating the feeding of the completed beadwork to a receiving member carried by the frame when the device is in use. The Poole patent although foldable for ease of transport between locations and for storage purposes appears to be limited to use upon a substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,313,765 to Traum discloses a loom frame which is fitted with means for holding considerable lengths of warp threads so that very long strips of bead work can be woven without removing the work from the loom. A feature of the invention resides in means for winding up or disposing of the woven bead work as the work is completed. With respect to the Traum patent the loom does not appear to be functional for use on the lap of a user, nor does it provide measuring incrementation or means for displaying instructions for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,467 to Woodruff discloses a hand loom for making woven fabric. The loom includes a frame for supporting warp threading. Warp alignment structure on the frame maintains relative alignment of each thread of the warp. A detachable heddle spindle assembly mounted to the frame includes a rotatably mounted heddle spindle transversely adjacent the warp threading. A first set of slideably positionable heddle fingers is removably installed in a locking slot formed axially on the spindle and the fingers thereof are adapted, aligned and spaced to lift predetermined ones of the warp threading as the spindle is rotated. A second set of heddle fingers is removably installed in a second locking slot axially on the spindle and radially displaced from the first set, the fingers of the second set being adapted, aligned and spaced to lift others of the warp threads. The spindle is rotated so that the first set of heddle fingers lifts some of the warp threads, a weft drawing shuttle may then be passed between the lifted threads and the remaining warp, and so on until the woven fabric is completed. The heddle fingers may have a variety of arrangements and may be programmable so that an unlimited variety of woven patterns may be woven. The warp threading may be installed as a single thread at one side of the frame and then coiled longitudinally thereabout to a desired width, or separate threads may be mounted around the frame to provide warp. A tension adjusting mechanism is provided to bias the warp to a desired tension. Although the Woodruff invention can weave a variety of patterns, it too does not appear to be readily transportable, nor does the loom provide a weaving position comfortable to the user-beader.
Ideally, a bead weaving device should be lightweight, easy to operate reliably and manufactured at a modest expense. Further, a bead weaving device should be able to perform a variety of different weaving techniques in an efficient manner. Thus, a need exists for a portable, reliable bead weaving system to avoid the above-mentioned problems.